More Alike Than You Think
by SasukeUchiha2117
Summary: Sasuke is hiding his emotions from everyone; including his sensei; which grabs the jounin's attention. Kakashi tries to get Sasuke to open up. Read to see what happens.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Naruto. I only wrote the fan fiction! If some of the characters seem a little OC-ish then I'm sorry - I haven't been keeping up with the episodes so don't bug me, and I might have changed a couple things - that is another thing NOT to bug me about! **(_Italic - thoughts_, and "..." is speech)

Prologue

The jounin watched as his students had spared against each other; showing their skills and what they needed to improve on. He noticed that the two boys on his team had been improving very quickly; leaving the lone girl in the dust, but he had faith that she'd pick herself up; still keeping an eye on her improvement though.

"_Hm. Naruto and Sasuke are showing a lot of improvement, but Sakura still has a long way to go even though she may be the smartest of the three. This doesn't look good for her, and for the rest of the team." _The jounin thought as he observed the sparing matches. He saw a jutsu he thought he'd never see from his strongest student on the team, and the move was a very difficult jutsu to perform. "_Whoa. Did Sasuke just use the...Crystal Geyser?! I never knew he could perform such a jutsu...I guess I misjudged his power and abilities."_

Sasuke skidded back away from the defeated Naruto; lying on the ground. The jounin decided to call it a day, and maybe he'd get a good chance to talk to Sasuke about the Crystal Geyser jutsu. "Alright I think that's enough for one day don't you think?"

The three gennin stopped and looked at their sensei as he approached them.

"Whadoya mean Kakashi-sensei?" The blonde gennin asked with an irritated sound in his voice.

"You three have done enough today. Good job. I saw a lot of improvement in your teijutsu, and ninjutsu; especially you Sasuke." Kakashi started.

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, and Naruto had a goofy grin on his face when he heard that trying to push his rival to his limits really helped him. Sakura just giggled.

"As for you Sakura..." He started again.

Sakura frowned; she fully knew what her sensei was going to say now that he had told Sasuke and Naruto that they were showing more improvement.

"You need to do a little bit more training on your own or study up on your teijutsu and ninjutsu because I'm sadly not seeing any improvement from you."

"I know Kakashi-sensei...I'm sorry; I've just been really stressed lately, but now that I know that what I have to deal with now is more important I think I can sort things out myself." The pink-haired girl stated to her teacher.

"Good. Now get home and rest up; we're going to be doing something similar to today's training. Be ready and on time."

"You're one to talk!" Both Naruto and Sakura yelled. Sasuke stayed silent as usual; leaving his sensei to wonder what goes on in his head, why he's always so cold towards others, and why he pushes people away when they try to help him and find out what's wrong. "_What's on your mind Sasuke? Why won't you talk to anyone and let them know what's bothering you."_ The jounin thought before snapping himself back into reality to see Naruto and Sakura leave, but he never saw Sasuke leave the training grounds, but before he grew concerned for his student's well being he saw a kunai fly past his face and hit the tree behind him - dead center. Kakashi turned to see his student starting a jutsu with hand signs. _"What kind of jutsu is that? I've never seen anything like it..."_ The jounin thought as the kunai that had previously flown by his face had been drawn back to its original place - between Sasuke's middle and ring fingers; nothing was out of place. Kakashi's eyes widened and realized that the jutsu that Sasuke had just performed wasn't a jutsu that was written in the scrolls; it was an original jutsu; which made him even more impressed by the young gennin.

"What kind of jutsu was that?" The jounin asked as he walked towards Sasuke.

"It's an original jutsu. It's called the rewind jutsu; it makes it seem as if any weapon thrown had never left its starting point to begin with. Why do you ask?"

"I was asking because I've never seen any jutsu like that one. I'm impressed by how you managed to create such an effective jutsu like that one Sasuke."

Sasuke put the kunai away and adjusted his head gear, and then put his hands in his pockets like nothing had ever happened - not saying a word.

"Anyway...I was wondering if maybe I could have a little talk with you at my place; that is if you want to. You chose." Kakashi suggested shrugging.

Sasuke lifted an eye brow at the man. "Why?"

The jounin sighed. "Something seems to be bothering you, and it's starting to grab my attention. Maybe you wanna talk about it perhaps?"

Sasuke's whole body froze of doing anything, and he said nothing.

Kakashi saw how bringing up the subject of bothersome thoughts had made the gennin uncomfortable. "I'm sorry; that isn't my business. I was wrong to intrude on your business, but you can't push yourself so hard Sasuke. Go home and get some rest." Kakashi had said before turning to walk home.

Sasuke didn't have time to think; this was the one person he thought he could trust and it was his now-or-never situation where the boy didn't think at all about what he did. He grabbed the jounin's sleeve; not moving or saying a word; just a simple action caught the man off guard. He didn't want Kakashi to leave; he needed to say something, and his time to do that was the offer the man had made before deciding it was a bad idea. "Wait..."

Kakashi's eye widened _"He...he wants to talk about it? B-but this is so unlike him. Whatever it is must really be bothering him."_

"I need to talk to you Kakashi-sensei."

"_Sensei?! He called me sensei?! This must be bad..."_

"I'll take you up on the offer..." Sasuke said with his head down; his voice was a low mutter.

"Did you want to talk here or at my place?"  
"Your place would be nice..."

"Alright...follow me then." Kakashi said; feeling that Sasuke let go of his sleeve right after. _"This is going to be one long talk by the looks of it...oh boy..."_

Sasuke just nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Naruto. I only wrote the fan fiction! If some of the characters seem a little OC-ish then I'm sorry - I haven't been keeping up with the episodes so don't bug me, and I might have changed a couple things - that is another thing NOT to bug me about! **(_Italic - thoughts_, and "..." is speech)

The Talk

The two ninja walked in silence the way to Kakashi's house, and once they got there the silence remained. Kakashi let Sasuke go in first and then he followed.

"Just make yourself comfortable on the couch alright?"

Sasuke did as he was told and sat down on the couch. Kakashi had come into the living room after taking his vest off. He walked over and sat down next to his troubled student.

"What's bothering you Sasuke?"

"To tell the truth...I really don't know how to put it to words."

"What's on your mind then? Let's start there."

"I-I've just been having these...nightmares..."

"Nightmares?"

Sasuke nodded.

"What happens in these nightmares?"

"I just relive seeing my entire clan die at my feet, but I can't move, and I can't hear anything at all; I have to watch it all happen; I can't scream; I basically can only stand in one spot and watch everything happen; even my parents being killed." Sasuke explained; his voice cracking every once in a while; almost sounded like he was going to choke up.

Kakashi didn't say anything in case the boy wasn't finished, and he didn't want to say anything to offend him or hurt him in anyway. _"Of the three gennin on the team...why is it you who has these problems; you're too...too...too young...to experience things like this."_ He thought as he tried to find words in attempt to fill his thoughts and try to figure out why these memories are hunting Sasuke.

"Do you know why these memories are coming to you in your dreams?"

"No...I don't know..." Sasuke said lowering his gaze to the floor.

"Hm..."

Sasuke was silent.

"Well tell ya what..."

Sasuke lifted his head and looked at his sensei. "What?"

"If you wanna...you can stay the night."

Sasuke's eyes widened. _"He's allowing me...to stay here, but why?"_

"Do you want to stay the night Sasuke?"

Sasuke gulped "S-sure..."

"You didn't really sound like you where positive about that answer."

"I-I'm sure about my answer..."

Kakashi lifted an eye brow.

"I swear I'm positive Kakashi-sensei."

"_There's that 'sensei' thing again...*sigh* so this IS serious."_ The jounin thought before smiling.

"What?"

"Maybe you should rest first. You're probably just very tired. C'mon." Kakashi said putting an arm around his student and guided him to the guest room. "You can sleep in here tonight okay?"

Sasuke slowly nodded. "Wait what about my cloths?"

"You're only staying for the night; you can go home and get changed in the morning, and I'll even walk there with you."

"So what do I wear to bed?"

The man walk out of the room and came back a minute later with a pair of sweat pants. "You can wear these for tonight." He said handing the boy the pair of sweat pants.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go try them on." Sasuke said before walking into the bathroom.

Kakashi sighed _"This is not going to be easy. I'm really going to have to sit down with him and talk about this bothersome situation he's in. Oh boy..."_

Sasuke came back with the sweat pants on; he had his shorts and his shirt in his hand. "They fit well enough for one night I guess."

A warm smile crept onto the jounin's face. "Alright then get some sleep Sasuke." He said before walking by him and whispering in his ear. "I promise I'll be here when you wake up."

A faint blush spread across the gennin's cheeks and he nodded.

Kakashi left the room and shut the door behind him and walked down the hallway to his room to get changed and go to sleep himself.

Sasuke climbed into bed and lied down and went to sleep - the nightmare returned, but it was much worse this time because Sasuke could hear what they were saying. He didn't want to stay asleep anymore, but couldn't wake up - he was trapped.

Kakashi was woken up by a scream, and instinctively went to the guest room where Sasuke slept. He walked in and sat on the bed where Sasuke sat; eyes wide open with tears flowing from them.

"Sasuke..."

No reply.

"Sasuke what happened?"

"Everyone's dead..." Sasuke said with a timid voice; it was cracking.

"Huh?"

"They all died...and I couldn't do anything about it..." He continued; his voice was still so small; like he was a scared young child.

Kakashi stayed silent.  
"I just stood there and watched them die...I was too weak to save them..."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "No Sasuke that's not true; you weren't too weak you were a child...your still basically a child..."

Sasuke looked at the man with no words left; tears still rolling down his cheeks.

Kakashi took the sleeve of his black suit and rubbed the tears away and held Sasuke in a comforting embrace. "Maybe you should sleep in my room instead."

Sasuke nodded; not knowing what to do out of fright.

Kakashi stood up and as did Sasuke, and the two ninja walked down the hallway to Kakashi's room.

"Get in." The man simply said to the young gennin.

The boy did as instructed and lied down. "What about you Kakashi?"

"I'll sleep on the floor. You can still sleep up there though."

"But that's not fair for you."

"That said - I want you to go to sleep...or at least try...okay?"

Sasuke sighed. "Alright I'll try then..." He said before shutting his eyes, but he quickly remembered what he would see if he fell asleep again. He truly wanted to keep his word and try to go to sleep, but the nightmare haunted him to the point where he didn't want to sleep anymore.

Kakashi sat up. "I have a question."

"What is it?"

"When did you start having these nightmares?"

"I don't remember...it was a while ago that's all I remember...sorry."

"_So...it's pretty much worse than I thought huh? Well then...this could take a while..."_

"What was the point of that question?"

"I was just wondering. I was going to ask - if you remembered that is - why you didn't tell me or someone you can talk to about this, but seen as how you don't remember then I guess the question is kind of irrelevant now."

"Oh..."

"Sorry to bother you..."

"Ah it's nothin'."

"Le'me guess...you can't sleep even if you tried...am I right?"

"Pretty much..."

Kakashi sighed and stood up and sat on his bed with Sasuke. "What do you do when you can't go to sleep?"

"I just lie in bed and stare at the ceiling, but that only helps when I can't sleep; not after I've woken up from that stupid nightmare. Once I wake up from that nightmare I don't go back to sleep."

"No matter what time it is?" Kakashi asked.

"No matter what time it is." Sasuke repeated.

"_Well then I might as well just try to get him to talk now instead of in the morning...damn...why does most things that I try to do that are NICE end up being so difficult?"_

"Sensei?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I was just thinking about something, but don't worry about it."

"Okay."

"I have something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Is it the whole 'what's bothering me' thing?"

"Yeah. I'm worried about you Sasuke, and whether or not you can tell; your team mates are worried for you too; especially Naruto."

"Yeah I kno- wait what? Naruto? I thought you'd say especially Sakura, but Naruto?! Wow..."

"Although it surprises you I really doesn't surprise me at all."

"Why's that?"

"He looks to you as a role model, a rival, and a friend; he really cares about you Sasuke."

Sasuke lowered his head and became silent.

"Now then...shall we...or do you not want to talk now?"


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Naruto. I only wrote the fan fiction! If some of the characters seem a little OC-ish then I'm sorry - I haven't been keeping up with the episodes so don't bug me, and I might have changed a couple things - that is another thing NOT to bug me about! **(_Italic - thoughts_, and "..." is speech)

Reminiscing Nightmares

Sasuke thought for a moment. _"If I talk about this stuff with him then he might think that he's gotten to me and just maybe he might, but I don't think that it would hurt to try...I guess..."_

"So what's it going to be hm?" Kakashi asked; his voice was very gentle sounding, and his eyes were full of curiosity.

"I...I guess so...it wouldn't hurt to try..."

"Are you sure you want to; you don't have to ya know."

"Yeah I understand that, but I think I'll give it a try."

"Okay then...*ahem*...what do you want to explain first?"

"What do you mean 'explain'?"

"There's obviously more than you thing bothering you...so which one do you want to talk about first?"

"Well...I'd much rather talk about the nightmares I've been having first because they've been occurring more often than I'd like them to."

"Okay...what is it about the nightmares that you remember the most."

"I remember the parts where my brother appeared and killed someone like my parents or my aunt and uncle."

"Alright then. What do you think that says?"

Sasuke put his head down. "I don't know..."

Kakashi sighed. "Hm...Well..." He started as he glanced at the clock. "It's almost 3:00 am..."

Sasuke looked over at the clock. "Oh yeah...it is...isn't it?" He asked innocently.

Kakashi smiled and nodded. "Maybe we should just try go to sleep instead yes?"

Sasuke sheepishly smiled and nodded. "Okay."

"_Well, well, well...looks like I got somewhat of a smile out of you huh Uchiha?"_ The man thought before clearing his throat. "Lie down and go to sleep Sasuke. Get some rest."

Sasuke lied down and then realized that he would have that same nightmare again. "U-um...sensei?"

"Yes Sasuke?"

"I-I know this isn't like me, but do you...do you think that maybe..." The gennin stopped and gulped. "D-do you think that maybe you could s-sleep up here...w-with me in-instead?"

Kakashi hear the unsteadiness in his student's voice and ran his fingers through the boy's raven locks. "I can if you need me to; so yes I will." He said with a warm smile.

Sasuke smiled and whispered to the jounin. "Thank you Kakashi."

"No problem Sasuke...just get some rest alright?"

"Okay." The gennin said before closing his eyes.

"_Now THAT is different...he seems so much like a innocent child, but he's really a fifteen year old adolescent...I must be getting somewhere then."_ Kakashi thought before he lied down next to Sasuke; putting one arm over the boy in a protective sort of way and closed his eyes.

When it was brighter out at 11:30 am; the sun had made its way through Kakashi's bedroom window; hitting the jounin's eyes and waking him up. _"Ugh...what time is it?"_ He thought as he looked over at his clock. _"It's 11:30...great...five minutes to get to the training ground for training...just perfect."_ The man looked down at his still-sleeping student; seeing him asleep and smiling and he realized that Sasuke hadn't woken up after he had gone to sleep this time. _"Heh...he didn't wake up after going to sleep this time. That's good...was it because of me though?"_ He shook the boy sleeping beside him. "Sasuke..."

The boy tightened his eyes.

"Sasuke wake up. Its 11:30...we have to get to the training ground on time."

One eye opened. "Wha?" The gennin said sleepily.

"You need to wake up now."

"Okay." Sasuke said with a sigh.  
Kakashi put an arm around the gennin's shoulders and helped him sit up. "C'mon Sasuke; you need to get home and change so we can get to the training field."

Sasuke's eyes sprang open. "WHAT! How much time do we have?"

"We have five minutes."

Sasuke got out of bed and disappeared from the room, and reappeared two minutes later; changed and ready; with the exception of his hair - it was still a mess.

Kakashi had Sasuke sit on the bed and he brushed the boy's unexpectedly soft hair. _"I never thought Sasuke's hair was so soft; it looks course and ruff, but it's really fine and smooth."_ He thought just as he finished brushing the gennin's bed-head. "There...all done. We should get going now."

Sasuke nodded. "Right."

**Sorry for the short chapter, but I have a plan for this so the next chapter will arrive soon...so no bugging me...please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Naruto. I only wrote the fan fiction! If some of the characters seem a little OC-ish then I'm sorry - I haven't been keeping up with the episodes so don't bug me, and I might have changed a couple things - that is another thing NOT to bug me about! **(_Italic - thoughts_, and "..." is speech)

New Training Perspectives - A Difference in Sasuke

The two ninja arrived at the training ground just in time; they had arrived at 11:35 (the time Kakashi said to meet at the training ground), and Sakura and Naruto were waiting. The pink-haired girl looked over to see her sensei and Sasuke walking toward them together; she had begun to wonder if the boy would even show up, but there he was walking with Kakashi. "Hey Sasuke."

Naruto looked over to see Sasuke, and...Kakashi?! "Kakashi-sensei?! You're on-time today?!"

Kakashi gave a small scowl at the blonde gennin. "Very funny Naruto. Ya know it's so funny I forgot how to laugh."

Sasuke laughed slightly - unheard.

Naruto scratched to back of his head. "Eh heheh sorry..."

Sakura just decided to cut to the chase of today's training. "So what are we doing today for training Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Well I was planning to do a paired scavenger hunt."

Naruto and Sakura looked at their sensei with confusion. "Whadoya mean Kakashi-sensei? What kind of scavenger hunt?"

"A kind of scavenger hunt where there is only one of everything. Each team has to be able to conceal their chakra to be able to retrieve the item on the list that I will provide. I will have someone else hide everything in different spots of the training grounds and the Forest of Death, and the Forest of Quiet Movement. Everyone is to go indoors until the person who hides the items tells you to come out and start looking. Do I make myself clear? Are there any questions?"

"Who decides who goes on which team?"

"I will decide who's on which team, but there will a leader that I will pick for each team. So who wants to be a team leader?"

"I'll do it Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said rising his hand and waving it in the air.

"Alright Naruto; you'll be the leader for your team."

"Yes!"

"Who's going to be the other team leader?"

"I will." Sasuke said; his voice sounded a lot different than usual; probably because he got more sleep and wasn't as grumpy.

"Hm...alright then Sasuke; you'll be the leader for your team. Now for the people going on each team..." Kakashi said with suspense.

"_I hope I'm on Sasuke's team..."_ Sakura thought.

"_Please let me get Sakura on my team..."_ Naruto thought.

"Sakura."

"Yes Kakashi-sensei?"

"You'll be on Naruto's team."

Her face remained the same, and she nodded. _"Why Naruto? Why sensei...why?"_ She thought.

"_Yes! Everything's perfect...I'm the team leader, and now I have Sakura on my team, but that also means that Kakashi-sensei's on Sasuke's team...this is gonna be pretty tough, but I can handle this."_ Naruto thought.

"What about Sasuke? Who's gonna be on his team then?" Naruto asked.

"I'll be on Sasuke's team; don't worry Naruto."

"_This should be a piece of cake now."_ Both Kakashi and Sasuke thought.

"Wait."

Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "What is it?"

"Who's going to be hiding the items on the list that you haven't passed out yet?"

"Oh. I was just getting to that. Here are the item lists that you'll need to do this." He said handing one to Naruto and then one to Sasuke.

"What about me and you sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Only the leaders need them; I'm positive that they'll share the information if they wanna win." The jounin answered with a smile.

Sasuke and Naruto looked over the list; carefully studying the order they're listed in.

A random person arrived at the training ground - a young boy.

"Oh hey it's Konohamaru!" Naruto said.

"Hey Naruto."

Naruto smiled.

"Hey Sasuke!"

"Hey kiddo. What's happenin'?" He said giving the kid knuckles.

"Nothing much; I get to help you train today!" The kid said returning the knuckles.

"So I've heard." He said as he looked over at Kakashi with a smile on his face.

"_A smile in public *gasp* such a difference..."_

"_Sasuke's...smiling?!"_

"_Wow...Sasuke's smiling...that's new."_

"You guys go and wait inside for a bit; I'll be done really quickly."

"Thanks Konohamaru."

"No problem Sasuke." Konohamaru said before running off.

The team went to eat something while Konohamaru hid the items. He came back about ten minutes later just after Naruto finished his last bowl of ramen. "Okay they're all hidden; you can go look now."

"Okay then. Alright teams, let's get started." Kakashi said standing from his stool.

Sasuke stood up as well; along with Sakura and finally Naruto. Kakashi paid for their meal and they left for the training ground after Sasuke said goodbye to Konohamaru.

They got to the training grounds and Kakashi set a timer and placed it on one of the logs. "Alright; the timer is set; the first team to get back to stop the time will receive a small prize, but that's it; it's only a SMALL prize."

The three gennin nodded. "Right."

"Start!" The jounin said before starting the timer and the two teams dispersed into the forest.

Sasuke and Kakashi stopped in a tree. "So what's first on the list?"

"A platinum set of kunai."

"Alright; let's get looking then."

"Conceal your chakra first." Sasuke reminded the jounin.

"Right sorry."

"No need for sorrys." Sasuke said with a small smile.

"Hehe right..." Kakashi said scratching the back of his head.

The two ninja concealed their chakra as Sasuke's head turned in one direction.

"What is it?"

"Sakura and Naruto..."

"What about them?"

"They forgot to conceal their chakra...I found them, and their too close to us...we need to move...now."

Kakashi nodded.

Sasuke was the first to move; Kakashi followed.

"Look...down there!" Sasuke whispered and pointed to a black holster with blue handles sticking out the sides.

"Hey it's the kunai pack!" Kakashi whispered.

"I'll get it." Sasuke said before jumping down without a sound and picked up the holster. He jumped back up and then heard rustling in the distance. "Their here, but their too late."

Kakashi chuckled at the gennin's sly smirk. "What do ya have planned?"

"A trap..."

"Oh boy...this I have to see."

Sasuke quickly set a trap for the other team - a pit covered by leaves and grass. "There; it's set."

"Now all we have to do is get a good distance so we can just leave to find the next item, but still so we can see right?"

"Exactly."

They got a good distance away from Sasuke's set trap, and they waited.

Sakura and Naruto fell for it and they fell into the pit. Naruto was the one to respond first. "Ugh...Sasuke!" He yelled.

Sasuke snickered and leaped away from where he and Kakashi were hiding; Kakashi followed silently behind. The boy finally realized that they had already found the second item on the list and crossed it off instead; along with the first item on the list. "Three left to find; let's go."

Kakashi nodded. "Right; before they come to find us."

Sasuke snickered again. "Oh trust me - they won't be getting out of there for a while." He said as he held the list in between him and Kakashi so that both of them could see what the third item was. "A set of Shuriken windmills; this should be easy."

They took off into the Forest of Death; where they suspected to find the shuriken, and they were right. "There they are." Kakashi said and picked them up. "They look brand-new."

"So now we only need to find two more items...cool." He said crossing off the shuriken windmills from the list.

Kakashi put his head on the boy's shoulder. "So what's next?"

"We need to find a red headband; a chunnin headband I'm guessing."

Kakashi nodded. "That's right. Let's get looking then."

Sasuke nodded and put the list back into his shuriken holster.

They got back to the training ground and saw the timer. "It's been seven minutes so far. We're making good time Sasuke."

"Over there!"

"Hm?"

"I saw a shiny piece of metal!"

"Let's have a look then - lead the way."

Sasuke laughed a little. "I see what you did there." He said as he walked over across the water. He picked up the shining piece of metal; only to find a set of senbon. "Huh? These are senbon, but...oh this is the last item on the list, but it's good that we found them." He said putting them away and took out the list and crossed off the senbon from the list. "One more item - the chunnin headband."

"There's only one last place to look..."

"Where?"

"The Forest of Quiet Movement."

"Oh yeah that's right! Let's go!"

"_I think I'm really starting to get somewhere with you Sasuke...HA!"_

They got to the Forest of Quiet Movement and spotted the headband. "There it is!" Sasuke said before running over to the headband; only to be stopped by Kakashi. "It's a trap!"

Sasuke looked back over to the headband and a sound ninja was it the headband's place; he gasped. "No..." He said backing up; noticing that the sound ninja wasn't alone.

"Stay behind me; I'll take 'em on."

Sasuke felt like running as he stared into one of the sound ninja's eyes; they were filled with aggression and conceit for completing their task. He then stood next to Kakashi instead of hiding. _"No more running away and hiding. It's time I turn and fight!"_

"What did I say?!"

"I know what you said Kakashi, but I'm tired of running!" He said forming hand signs; getting a Crystal Geyser ready; Kakashi watched every hand sign and noticed the jutsu. _"He used that jutsu yesterday, but that means...he's serious about this..."_

The three sound ninja ran at Sasuke and Kakashi; Sasuke was ready with a powerful jutsu - the Crystal Geyser Jutsu.

Sasuke's hands looked like they had a cold aura surrounding them; until he slammed his palms to the ground as he got down on one knee. A large trail of Crystals raged from his hands along the ground; hitting the ninja charging at him and his sensei; throwing them all across the field and into the ground; making a big crater.

Kakashi's eyes widened. _"Whoa...Sasuke...you..."_

One ninja tried to stand; only to be stopped by Sasuke. The boy had disappeared and reappeared behind the ninja that tried to stand and used a technique that he had learned by himself - hidden spike blade; it was a technique that required a fire style jutsu and a kunai knife; both of which he had.

That ninja soon fell back down - dead.

"S-Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Where did you learn that technique?"

"I learned it from a scroll."

Sasuke turned around to see a red cloth in a tree. "Hm. Found it."

"Found wha...oh...that; I forgot about that." Kakashi said with a sheepish smile.

"We found everything but the item Sakura and Naruto found." The boy said with a confident voice. "Let's go back."

"Okay."

The two ninja showed up in the training ground; not seeing Sakura or Naruto around anywhere. "They must still be looking for the other items."

"Stop the timer..."

"Oh yeah." Sasuke said walking over to the timer and hitting the button. "Fifteen minutes...hm...not bad Kakashi..."

Naruto and Sakura showed up at the training ground a couple minutes later; still looking for the other items, but then they saw Kakashi and Sasuke. "What're you guys doin'?"

"We finished..." Sasuke said as he jumped out from the tree he had fallen asleep in. "What took you two so long?"

"We were looking for the other items, but I guess you guys already found them...and YOU set a trap!"

"Yup." Sasuke said as he took each item out and placed them in the order they're in on the list.

Naruto put the lone item that he and Sakura found - it was a pair of jounin gloves with metal plating on the top of the hands.

"How long did you two take?" Sakura asked as she looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded his head at the timer. "Fifteen minutes, and you guys took about seventeen minutes; not bad."

"So what's the small prize Kakashi-sensei?"

"The prize is one of the items that Sasuke found seen as how his team won."

"Cool so which one are ya choosin' Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"I'll take the platinum kunai set."

"Huh? I thought you'd want the chunnin headband."

"Nah...I'll earn that on my own." Sasuke said with a confident smirk.

"Oh yeah I forgot. We can do that as a team."

"Exactly."

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Alright Sasuke; take what you want."

Sasuke walked back over to the line of scavenged items and picked up the black shuriken holster that had the platinum set of kunai knives. He took one of the kunai knives out of the holster and stared at the blade of it. "Wow...it's spotless and beautiful...just like..." Sasuke said before stopping to think.

Kakashi had a faint smile under his mask. _"Just like you... Sasuke."_ He thought as he looked into the onyx orbs that were reflected off of the mint-condition weapon the gennin held; the blue handle bringing out the boy's tan-ish skin. _"His eyes...they have something different in them; it's no longer fear, and anger; they have a small sparkle about them..."_

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes Sasuke?"

"Could I practice with these for a sec?"

"Yeah sure; knock yourself out." He said gesturing to a tree with a target.

Sasuke's eyes light up as he looked at the target on the tree and held one of the kunai knives and ran his other fingers along the blade and handle. He tossed one directly at the target and hit it dead center. "HA! Bull's eye!" Sasuke exclaimed before he formed hand signs. He formed the last hand sign and the other three ninja stood in awe as the kunai that had left Sasuke's hand and hit the target dead center had retreated back into his hand as if it had never been thrown.

"Whoa...Sasuke that was awesome!"

"Hehe thanks Naruto." Sasuke said as he scratched the back of his neck; a small blush had spread across his cheeks.

Kakashi saw how Sasuke's cheeks had a slight red tint to them; making him get a little jealous, but...why? _"What is this feeling I have about Sasuke having a slightly red face from what Naruto told him? What is it about Sasuke that makes me feel this way?"_ Kakashi thought.

Sasuke saw the jealousy in his sensei's eyes. "Something wrong Kakashi-sensei?"

"Huh? Oh-uh...no...nothing's wrong; I'm fine Sasuke."

"Tch...whatever you say sensei."

"Actually I think that's it for today. You guys head home."

"Okay Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said with a goofy smile.

"What? Why?" Sakura asked.

"That scavenger hunt should be enough for today."

"Oh...okay then."

Sakura and Naruto waved goodbye and walked home; leaving Kakashi and Sasuke standing in the middle of the training field.

"What was all that about sensei?"

"What?"

"The face you made when Naruto said that?"

"I don't know...I just...I just...I just had this feeling of...jealousy..."

"J-jealousy? For what - me?"

"Well...yes...you."

"W-why?"

"Like I said I don't know..."

Sasuke stayed silent.

"I-I just...I-"Kakashi stuttered before Sasuke cut him off; Sasuke pulled Kakashi's mask down and kissed him; their lips seemed to melt together; leaving Kakashi wide-eyed and speechless after they both had pulled away.

Kakashi's face was a deep shade of red; making Sasuke giggle slightly.

"W-was that a giggle?"

"A small one, but yes."

A small laugh was heard from the jounin's throat. "Cute..."

Sasuke's face turned a little redder than it already was; which was a rosy red. He ears eventually turned red as well from Kakashi's arms wrapping around his waist. "Do you still want to sleep at my place? Ya know - like last night?"

Sasuke's eye's seemed to have fireworks in them. "Really?"

"Only if you want to Sasuke."

"Sure I'd love to!" The boy said; his eyes seeming to light up the entire field in the darkness.

"Did it just get brighter out here or is it just me?" Kakashi joked.

"What are you talking about sensei?" Sasuke said laughing.

"Your eyes just light up with excitement, and it looked like for a moment that the entire field lit up with a beautiful blue light, but c'mon; let's go before it gets too dark out."

Sasuke nodded; still thinking about what Kakashi had said just then about his eyes lighting up and so did the field...but a _blue_ light...his eyes were pure onyx orbs...not sapphires. "Right; let's go." He said, but he was still in a small daze from thought. He followed the jounin; jolted when he felt something touch his hand.

"It's okay Sasuke; it's only me." Kakashi said in attempt to calm his student of sudden fright. The jounin slowly grabbed the gennin's small hand and held it in his own hand as they walked to his house in the stillness of the night; a bright and full moon shining above the trees. Although there was much to be said; the two ninja walked to Kakashi's house in silence; just like last time; only Sasuke was much less of a 'wreck' than last time. The silence was then broken half-way to the man's house. "I noticed that you're not much of a boy to push people away like you used to be ya know Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up at his much taller sensei. "Really; I never noticed something like that; even before."

"That's just you though." Kakashi said with a small chuckle.

The two walked along a path surrounded by trees as they approached Kakashi's house, and this time Sasuke would be prepared to stay at his sensei's house.

Kakashi unlocked and opened the door and let Sasuke go inside first and he'd follow; just like the night before.

"Le'me guess...you want me to just sit on the couch for now like last night right?"

"No..." his face was still a little red from the surprise kiss from the young gennin earlier.

"Then what?" Sasuke asked as Kakashi walked toward him.

Kakashi leaned down and kissed Sasuke just like Sasuke had kissed him the first time, but his intention was to go slightly longer than Sasuke had.

Sasuke felt his face get very hot as Kakashi had started to intensify the kiss as he licked his lower lip; making him open his mouth for the man to explore. His heart begins to beat rapidly as if it was trying to break the gennin's chest open. He couldn't help but pull away.

"What's wrong?"

"I dunno...I have this weird feeling in my chest, and my heart feels like it's trying to break me open. I mean I bet you'd be able to feel it without even touching my chest."

Kakashi smiled. "I'll be the judge of that..." He said as he reached out to the boy and placed one hand on his chest; feeling Sasuke's rapidly beating heart; making him chuckle a little.

Sasuke looked confusedly at the man; tilting his head. "What's so funny?"

"It's not something that's funny..."

"Then what is it?"

"I've never felt a heart that's beating as fast as yours."

"W-what's that supposed to mean Kakashi?"

"Noting in particular...just that I have one question."

"What's that?"

"Have you kissed anyone before besides me?"

Sasuke gulped. "Y-yes, but...why do you ask?"

"I'm askin because believe it or not I haven't, but who was your first kiss?"

Sasuke lowered his head. "It was Naruto, but it was an accident...honest!" Then the boy stopped and then thought about how his sensei had never kissed anyone up to that point. "Wait...YOU haven't kissed anyone up to now?! You of all people?"

The jounin could only nod; not trusting his voice and his words.

Sasuke ran his fingers through his raven locks; each falling back into the place they had been in before. "I can't believe it. You're lying aren't you?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No...I'm not lying to you. I would never lie to you unless I wanted to keep you save."

"Is this one of those times?"

"No."

"So I'm your first..."

The jounin nodded. "Yes...is that a bad thing?"

"I-I never said that...it's just I would've thought that you would've kissed someone else first when you were younger, but..."

"Yeah I know, but the truth is that I was a lot like you when I was younger."

"Really?"

"Yes. I lost my family too...I had people on my team that were very similar to Sakura and Naruto, and a sensei that was a lot like me now."

"What were their names?"

"Well the person who was like Naruto was Obito Uchiha, the girl who was like Sakura was named Rin and my sensei's name was Minato."

"You had an Uchiha on your team, but..."

"He died saving me...from a rock avalanche in a cave. One side of his body was crushed first; Rin medically transferred his sharingan to me after that because I had my right eye sliced; which is where I got this scar...and my sharingan, and then we had to get out of the cave without Obito because the rock was too heavy to lift and he wanted us to leave without him anyways. I assume the rocks served as his burial site; besides his goggles of course."

"Do you still have the goggles?"

"Yes why?"

"Could I see them for a sec?"

"Sure." Kakashi said before walking into his room. He came out a minute later with a pair of orange tinted goggles that Kakashi had engraved an Uchiha symbol on both sides of the joints to lift up. He handed them to Sasuke; who handled them with exclusive care.

"Do you think I could try them on?"

"Sure." He said with a small smile.

Sasuke carefully put the pair of goggles on; flipping the lenses down onto his eyes.

Kakashi smiled; he could faintly see his old friend in Sasuke. "Y-you can have them if you want..."

Sasuke looked at his sensei; his eyes bursting with light. "Really? I can?!"

Kakashi nodded and sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to him. "Sit."

The gennin walked over and sat down next to Kakashi; unconsciously leaning on him and putting his head on the man's shoulder.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke and smiled seeing that the boy looked very tired. He glanced at the clock and sighed. _"11:30...well I guess it is a little late...I guess..."_


End file.
